Author: admin

Winter is the ideal time to tidy up the garden. So, next time you attend your patch you can remove dead, diseased and damaged growth, pull out tired annuals, cut back perennials, remove any nibbled-on leaves and rip out any cold-sensitive crops, such as tomatoes. Tidying up like this can remove sources of weeds, and removes potential habitat for fungal spores like mildews, sooty mould and rusts.

So, the tips for winter maintenance:

Leave the soil fallow for a few weeks

Grow mustard and dig it into the soil to act as a bio-fumigant

Clean your secateurs with methylated spirits between each plant when pruning to stop diseases being transferred from one plant to another.

Pick up any fallen fruit

Crown-lift trees by removing lower branches to increase air circulation

Place any clippings that might be infected into a black plastic bag and leave in the sun for a few months to ‘cook’ or solarise before adding them to your compost

Have a hot compost that gets up to 60 degrees so that seed and pathogens are killed

Just a little reminder to be vigilant. A red belly black snake was seen hiding between the leaves of the strawberry patch by Matt on October 11 and in the shed by Denise on December 6. Please follow Mark’s instructions to stay safe:

Please be alert to any possiblesnakeactivity.

All members are to be careful when picking up anything where asnakemight be lying underneath it.

Don’t pick up anything , like a stick, or step on a stick, without first having a look at it.

Make some noise when approaching possiblesnakesleeping areas, especially the compost bins.

When entering the shed , bang on the door before opening it. Noise will scare the snake away.